Well, this blog has been neglected. I’ll try to change that as I plan on getting my own domain soon; I’ll probably end up moving the blog to my new site. Anyway, in the meantime, these are the premiere dates for the next season (or special in the case of Doctor Who) for Fall ’09, starting with Fringe/The Office tonight. I’m not so interested in The Office but Fringe!

It was about this time a year ago when I first discovered that good television actually does exist. Although there were shows I enjoyed growing up, I would say that during my teenage years and onwards, there has not been any shows that peaked my interest. Reality TV, crime shows and lame sitcoms seemed to make up the majority of the TV landscape. However, I would see things online about LOST, Heroes or Battlestar Galactica and people really seemed to enjoy it. These shows seemed different from the superficial majority. I have always been a fan of reading good books, and these shows seemed to be the televised versions of good novels. So, on a whim last July, I decided to give LOST a try. A few episodes later, I was addicted… and my consumption of fantastic serialized television shows began.

It has been a year since then, and I have drenched myself in some of these stories, and really opened my mind a little to different genres I did not think I would enjoy. Overall, it definitely stimulated my imagination in a positive way… so here are my thoughts.

It would seem that things did not go according to plan after all. School got in the way, and it has been difficult to think about anything but that for the past few months. Now that I have some time off, I no longer have any excuses for getting this show on the road.

It is pretty funny looking back at my first post and seeing that much has changed in the relatively short span of six months. The school year is done with, although a month and a half later than it should have finished. Battlestar Galactica had a bittersweet ending, LOST’s penultimate season is over and the final stretch is on the horizon, Heroes had a sub par third season that ended with a glimmer of hope for the next season and Fringe went from okay to awesome in the matter of a season. Since then, I have devoured a few more series which now have permanent places in my heart, such as Farscape, Futurama and Deadwood. The amount of schoolwork in the past few months has put a damper in my gaming habits, but I have just finished playing inFamous and I after I give it another playthrough, I will post a review. I have also decided to try to take up programming as a hobby… we will see how that goes, as this blog will act as a testament of my journey into C.

My intentions have not changed, they have just been delayed. Unfortunately, my time management skills went on a decline during the school year but I hope to built them up again so there would not be an eight month delay between the last post before the summer ends and the next one. I have to go, but I will be back soon… this time, I mean it!

Alright, so sue me. It has been a few months since my only (& quite lonely) post was written. I’m sorry for neglecting you, blog. You had barely a taste of life before it was all taken away from you. Can you find it in your bloggy heart to forgive me? …you can? Well then, time to get started! No more procrastination, no more unkept deadlines; let’s get this started!

I’ve been meaning to set up a personal blog for myself for a long time, but, for some reason or another (mainly due to procrastination), I haven’t been able to get around to it. One of my resolutions for the New Year is to start to write again, and I thought a blog would be a great way to get back into it.

As I said previously, this is to be my personal blog, the Blog of Dale if you will. It isn’t going to be a diary of my life, which wouldn’t exactly make for an interesting read; I’ll be posting about the different subjects I’m interested in.

First, a little background info… I’m currently attending York University, taking a double major in Philosophy and Social & Political Thought (essentially a program covering all of the social sciences). I very much enjoy learning & reading about philosophy, psychology and politics, so naturally all three of those topics will be discussed here. My goal is to write posts in these areas that will generate discussion and encourage the exchange of ideas, not simply to stand up on my virtual soapbox and spew out my opinions. I don’t claim to be an expert in any of these fields, but talking with others about it seems like the best way to learn.

This blog isn’t just for me to write about what I study in school, but to also write about the things I love, and I absolutely love video games. I’ve been playing them pretty much my whole life. I wouldn’t refer to myself as a “gamer” (who likes to pigeon hole themselves like that?), but I find playing through a good game just as satisfying as finishing a good book or watching a good film. I’ll be talking about games I enjoy playing, and comment on the state of the game industry as well, from a hobbyist’s point of view.

I’m also heavily interested in all kinds of technology. I grew up watching my late uncle fiddle with all the newest products on the market. He always had to have the latest and greatest, whether it was one of the first graphic accelerators to be sold, or a new speaker system which he can connect to his top-of-the-line Pentium II PC. This passion of his was passed down to me. Whether it’s open source software, cameras, or the Large Hadron Collider, I’m most likely interested in it; so I’ll be commenting on the tech stories I find interesting as I find them. This blog is also going to serve as a testing ground for me to practice my amateur web design skills on, starting with basic HTML/CSS editing. Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?

Over the past six months, I’ve become addicted to a handful of TV shows. Before the summer of 2008, I rarely watched television, but I’ve become addicted to Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, and Fringe. It’s a little unhealthy, but these serialized shows really know how to keep people hooked. After each episode, I’ll most likely be giving my two cents. For films, it’s the same deal. It’s my blog and I’ll use it how I see fit!

Anyway, that is a good as an introduction as I can give at the moment. I will be fixing the blog up over the next few weeks, adding more content, a new design, an ‘About’ section and everything else that gives blogs that ‘bloggy’ feel. In the meantime, enjoy the posts, and feel free to add your own opinions to mine.